|
Post by superlocke on Aug 20, 2010 16:49:01 GMT -5
www.metacritic.com/game/psp/Ys-seven80, 80, 70? 70. This makes me a sad panda. I'm thinking the game needs more reviews, and possibly from bigger sources if possible. I'm not sure how we'd go about this, but if we got Kotaku or some other major gaming site (gametrailers?) to review Ys Seven, I'm sure it would help drive sales. Just an idea, welcoming any input on the matter!
|
|
|
Post by jeffx on Aug 20, 2010 17:31:55 GMT -5
IGN says 8.0I consider myself well-versed in the JRPG universe, but I've somehow missed out on the Ys series Oh well, at least he didn't rip the game a new one. I'm not sure why so many critics agree that the graphics "could use a little more work". The action wouldn't be as fast if they used high-poly models. Besides I thought graphics were really good myself. Edit: I don't know what happened but they swapped PlaystationLifeStyle's review for an IGN one (of the same score). Anyway I think an 80 average is pretty good!
|
|
|
Post by Varion on Aug 20, 2010 18:07:14 GMT -5
That's about 2-3 points higher than I expected from IGN.
Does Kotaku's stuff usually even go on MC? Seen as they don't use a points score or anything (reviews are one of the few things I actually enjoy reading on Kotaku).
|
|
|
Post by superlocke on Aug 20, 2010 18:28:09 GMT -5
They usually don't, no. But Kotaku has a huuuge readerbase And yes, I agree 80 average is good! But that 70 is hitting well below the mark honestly. The absolute lowest I'd think this game deserves (assuming you're going in with no bias) would be a 75. At the lowest. I personally rate it 90 right now, only at first boss
|
|
|
Post by Mutagene on Aug 20, 2010 20:20:17 GMT -5
I'd say it's a 9.5, myself. Not perfect but it comes so damn close. I should write a review for it myself after clearing the NA version.
|
|
|
Post by Peytral on Aug 20, 2010 21:13:29 GMT -5
The only thing the game is missing is a boss rush mode. >
|
|
|
Post by Incog Neato on Aug 20, 2010 21:20:18 GMT -5
I think I gave the game an 8 or 9 on GameSpot. XD (Uh, I THINK I rated it way back when.)
But yeah, wish critics would stop harping on the game's graphics but I guess they need some excuse to keep it from getting some crazy high rating. :P
I guess they're comparing it to, I dunno, SQUARE ENIX stuff??? Well, I think the game LOOKS great especially Altago City!!
As for the IGN quote that jeffx highlighted, I wonder if the guy realizes that Ys SEVEN is kind of unique in the series. Not sure he'd appreciate the old school bump and grind. :|
I am REALLY interested how people will take in Chronicles after SEVEN and Felghana. I bet they'll complain about the graphics AGAIN -- this time it'll be "It's not in 3D!!!!!!!!!! WTF! BBQ!!"
Felghana will probably get some mad ratings though even though the graphics complaint will still be there. XD
|
|
|
Post by Incog Neato on Aug 20, 2010 21:40:17 GMT -5
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE UNCHARTED 2. (Ergh. The visuals in that game were *___*.)
Anyway, Felghana (PC) IS gorgeous. Redmont(? -- not sure of the spelling) Town just BLEW ME AWAY. It's a lovely game, really.
And Ys I.II Complete (re: Chronicles) is very colourful and cute~! I loved the amount of details that went into the backgrounds and stuff. <3
|
|
|
Post by Incog Neato on Aug 20, 2010 22:06:30 GMT -5
But I'm admittedly a little biased. (: Plus, I REALLY, REALLY like the art style in Felghana. If I liked Nomura's character designs, though, then yeah... Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core would totally blow Felghana away. But since I don't, I consider Felghana to look better than even THOSE games. (: Felghana is just different style-wise. :V Crisis Core, overall, had BLAND environments and I don't think BbS looks all that great either. I mean, this --> www.rpgfan.com/pics/Ys-oathoffelghana/ss-028.jpg <-- looks far more amazing than any battle environment from CC. :P
|
|
|
Post by bishopcruz on Aug 21, 2010 3:07:43 GMT -5
Did any of the main sites get review copies early or anything? It just seems a bit odd that there are still only like 4 reviews out. I know this isn't the highest profile game out there, but I'd figure that having reviews out on release day would be pretty important to getting the word out on the game.
|
|
|
Post by knightofancient on Aug 21, 2010 3:08:48 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Peytral on Aug 21, 2010 3:17:00 GMT -5
That opinion is immediately invalid because of dissing of the music.
|
|
|
Post by bishopcruz on Aug 21, 2010 3:19:14 GMT -5
Handful of tunes? Is she kidding? Every area has its own music, as does each town, each dungeon, and hell the main plains area has TWO themes, as does Altago city. How much more music does she WANT?
I can understand wanting voice over, though honestly, in a portable game I think its less of an issue. But a 1.5 on sound? Was her version of the game borked or something? I have never wanted to email a site complaining about a review, but what she says about the sound is simply inaccurate. She can like the music or not, I don't care about that, but she makes it seem that the game has very little music in it. Wonder if she even beat the game.
|
|
|
Post by Peytral on Aug 21, 2010 3:28:23 GMT -5
And I don't get how they're simplistic when most of the songs are 3+ minutes long without looping.
|
|
|
Post by bishopcruz on Aug 21, 2010 3:37:07 GMT -5
Hell, no Ys game has had simplistic music, even in the chiptunes era. Listen to 'Music from Ys III' as an example: the layering alone blew my mind.
If you don't like the new-age rock style, well, you have no soul, but it's your opinion. But to say that there is no variety in the music, that's just plain wrong.
|
|
|
Post by Peytral on Aug 21, 2010 3:39:10 GMT -5
Actually, Ys Seven has significantly less amounts of rock than most Ys games. But yeah, your point still stands.
|
|
|
Post by knightofancient on Aug 21, 2010 3:41:03 GMT -5
If she doesn't like this, I don't know what to expect her reviews to contain about Felghana's and chronicles's Soundtrack.
|
|
|
Post by bishopcruz on Aug 21, 2010 3:49:27 GMT -5
The weird thing is that she has apparently played earlier Ys games. It makes no sense.
|
|
|
Post by Nalacakes on Aug 21, 2010 5:43:07 GMT -5
Wha...? Hate to sound like a broken record here, but the music was the last thing I expected someone to criticise Ys Seven for, especially in a paragraph that also praises the visuals, which I think are easily the most apparent weak point of the game. Admittedly I don't think it's one of the strongest Ys soundtracks outside of a few choice tracks myself, but it's still top tier stuff, and there's enough diversity in the soundtrack that I thought it'd please most anyone. Colour me as baffled as the rest of you. ^_^; The rest of the reviews are basically what I expected, really. 7s and 8s. For me it's a definite 9, but it really is quite rare to see Japanese RPGs receiving top marks on sites these days, especially ones that aren't RPG-specific. And I think an 8 is a score to be proud of. I think a lot of reviewers go into modern JRPGs expecting either something sweeping and cinematic or something that really breaks the mould, and Ys Seven does itself no favours in either area by being a rather modest, old school game that trades more on its gameplay than on any sort of grandiose storytelling. Actually, I think there's almost a snobbery these days with RPGs that are just plain fun. A shooter or platform game can pick up top marks by simply being polished and fun to play, and by doing something that has been done a hundred times before very, very well. But there seems to be an expectation that RPGs should go above and beyond simply being fun. Of course for some games the expectation is merited; with a game like Xenosaga, for example, there's so little actual playing to be done that it's only fair to expect it to tell a pretty captivating story. But I don't see why a game like Ys Seven should be penalised for its storytelling when it's clearly not the main course. It'd be like marking down Grand Theft Auto 4 for not having enough puzzles to solve. It's a 3-D action game, and there have been plenty of 3-D action games that are quite puzzle-centric, but if by that measure you penalise Grand Theft Auto 4 for not being puzzle-centric you're marking it down because you want it to be something that it has no aspirations of being. Same genre, but completely different games. I suppose it'd make sense to complain if the gameplay wasn't diverse and interesting enough to carry the whole game, just as it'd make sense to dock a bunch of points from Xenosaga if you felt (as many did!) that the storytelling wasn't up to snuff. But RPG trappings or no, Ys Seven is as good an action game as any I've played in years, and even if you stripped the story away entirely I'd still want to play it. It does feel kind of unfair, in a way, as you sort of wonder if a game in the Ys mould is actually capable of receiving top marks from many critics, or if the series would have to compromise what it's all about to become a critical darling. Anyway, long story short: I don't really like reading reviews, and an 8 is a really good score for a relatively obscure RPG that makes no major efforts to break the mould.
|
|
|
Post by Varion on Aug 21, 2010 6:44:13 GMT -5
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why 'professional' reviews are utterly worthless.
|
|